Parting Ways
by Rin-neechan
Summary: For Bulma and Yamcha, absence made their hearts wander.


A part of me always wondered why Bulma and Yamcha were so friendly with each other after ending a fifteen year relationship. A bunch of other fics I read made him out to be either a rapist, cheater, or drunk, or all three. Cheater perhaps since they mention that in the early episodes of DBZ and the manga, but for the real break up I don't think that's the case. The only logical explanation to me is that they are friendly because they had a mutually pleasant break up. So, here ya go.

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Bulma had gotten a call from Yamcha earlier that day asking to meet her in West City Park at around four o'clock. She had no idea what it was about, but figured it would turn into a dinner date. Watching the sunset from the park was one of his favorite romantic settings, but she couldn't help but notice some discomfort in his voice when he called. He sounded like he was rushing the call, and stuttered a lot. It sounded like he didn't have his facts straight about their meeting yet, but as soon as she asked when and where, he told her right away. She didn't want to jump to conclusions, so she left her house and drove the few miles to the park. 

When she got there, Yamcha was already waiting. He stood up to hug her and they sat back down immediately. Bulma couldn't help but notice how half-asked his hug was. Something was wrong.

"So...how've you been lately? Busy?" Yamcha started.

"I guess so, nothing new really."

"Oh, I see."

"What about you? How's training?"

"Well...aside from knowing I can't really help Goku...and the others out even with my best...good."

"Don't be discouraged, Yamcha."

"It's hard, when you've got Goku, Piccolo and...Vegeta to own up to."

Bulma looked down and saw him fidgetting with his hands and avoiding eye contact, but she still couldn't put her finger on what his problem was.

"Well, my dad's done most of the work lately. All the stuff he's built for Vegeta is actually some of the most hi-tech stuff he's ever invented. We're making a fortune off him." Bulma added to try and get Yamcha laughing or smiling at least.

"Well, at least he's good for something."

Bulma couldn't help but feel extremely awkward with the lame small talk, but she really didn't want to argue with Yamcha about why he was so nervous.

"Listen, Bulma, I..." He sighed and started thinking before he continued.

"A few months ago, one of my old friends, from my baseball team invited me to hang out with him and some buddies. And I was tired from training and thought some fun would be a good idea, so I said yes. It was a fun night and all, and he introduced me to this friend of his, but she's a girl. I've hung out with his group a few more times in the past few months and I've seen more and more of her and I really like her. I just, get one of those feelings around her, like I'm doing something right, you know what I mean?"

Bulma nodded, still listening intently.

"Well, I mean, I love you and all, but...but," Yamcha hung his head and slouched over. His elbows were on his legs and he was holding his face. He was definetly ashamed of himself.

"I can't help the way I feel Bulma. I'm so sorry, especially since I don't even know this girl, and we've been together for so long and, I just, I don't know what to do, or what's right, and I'm so confused and, Bulma, please don't hate me." Yamcha's rambling eventually faded when he put his face back into his hands.

Whenever they would visit the park, they'd always hear kids playing in the backround or birds chirping as old ladies fed them scraps of bread, but not this time. They sat there, alone, as silence rang throughout the area.

"Yamcha, look at me." Bulma said calmly after letting him settle down.

Yamcha looked at her, expecting for her to look him in the eye and tell him how dare he waste so many years of her life to dump her for some whore he barely knew. To his own amazement, there was no malice in her stare. There was actually understanding and compassion. She even smiled and put a hand on his shoulder.

"First of all Yamcha, I could never hate you. I could get steaming mad at you for being late, saying something stupid, cancelling our dates at the last minute, or not calling for a week straight but I could never hate you. Secondly, you're absolutely right. You can't help the way you feel and I understand that completely. I'm just happy that you told me before anything happened. I really do appreciate that, and lastly, this is at a really good time for both of us." Bulma finished, now looking away from him and leaning back. Yamcha turned towards her and waited for her to continue.

"What do you mean? At a good time?" Yamcha questioned out of curiousity.

"Let's just say that, we're, sort of, in the same boat." She stated quickly, hoping she picked the right words.

"So you've found somebody else too then?" Bulma nodded.

"Who is he?"

"I really shouldn't say. I haven't even told him yet."

"Alright, well, I'm sorry if I worried you earlier, I was just so nervous. I thought you'd throw a huge fit and never speak to me again. I mean, we can still be friends, and hang out even if we're not together, right? That's all I really wanted." Yamcha said with a chuckle.

"Sure, Yamcha, I'd like that. For now though, maybe we should put a little distance between ourselves. It'll be better that way, just for a little while so we can get used to things and closer to our new interests without the dreaded ex breathing down your neck trying to pull off being buddy-buddy." Bulma suggested, feeling a little bad.

"Yeah, that's a good idea. I wouldn't look good to always hang out with your ex when you're getting closer to somebody else. But call me if anything big happens with you and what's-his-face, ok?" Yamcha said with a bright smile.

"No problem. Promise you'll do the same?"

"Awesome. I promise." Yamcha let out a long breath and relaxed a little while Bulma started thinking.

"So, what now?" She asked after a little bit.

"Want to hit up the arcade? I'll destroy you at air hockey."

"No way am I going to let you win!"

With that, Bulma and Yamcha both got up and walked to their cars. The arcade went well, they laughed and refrained from talking about all the good times they had together and instead talked about their plans for the future. They both decided to keep information about their new interests vague for the time being, and after a few hours, they parted ways and went home. They gave a friendly hug before going and didn't look back. They were starting over, without losing anything.

When Bulma got back to Capsule Corp, she walked across the lawn to the front door, glancing at the Gravity Room, only to find the red glow that always emits from the windows to be gone. She let out a small smile and made her way inside.

"Vegeta, you finished early today."

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Yay! I'll let you imagine the rest. Review please. 


End file.
